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My hands were all twisted up with clear tubes, and something was taped across my face, under my nose. I lifted my hand to rip it off.

"Edward?" I turned my head slightly, and his exquisite face was just inches from mine, his chin resting on the edge of my pillow. I realized again that I was alive, this time with gratitude and elation. "Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry!"

"No, you don't." And cool fingers caught my hand.

"Shhhh," he shushed me. "Everything's all right now."

My eyes opened to a bright, white light. I was in an unfamiliar room, a white room. The wall beside me was covered in long vertical blinds; over my head, the glaring lights blinded me. I was propped up on a hard, uneven bed -- a bed with rails. The pillows were flat and lumpy. There was an annoying beeping sound somewhere close by. I hoped that meant I was still alive. Death shouldn't be this uncomfortable.

"What happened?" I couldn't remember clearly, and my mind rebelled against me as I tried to recall.

"I was almost too late. I could have been too late," he whispered, his voice tormented.

"Alice called them. Renee is here well, here in the hospital. She's getting something to eat right now."

I sighed, and it hurt. I stared down at my body under the sheet, the huge lump that was my leg.

They gave you a few transfusions. I didn't like it it made you smell all wrong for a while."

"He tricked us all."

"How bad am I?" I asked.

"But what did you tell her?" I panicked. I had no interest in being soothed. My mom was here and I was recovering from a vampire attack. "Why did you tell her I'm here?"

"I need to call Charlie and my mom," I realized through the haze.

"You fell down two flights of stairs and through a window." He paused. "You have to admit, it could happen."

"She's here?" I tried to sit up, but the spinning in my head accelerated, and his hand pushed me gently down onto the pillows.

"She'll be back soon," he promised. "And you need to stay still."

"You have a broken leg, four broken ribs, some cracks in your skull, bruises covering every inch of your skin, and you've lost a lot of blood.

"I was so stupid, Edward. I thought he had my mom."

"Don't I taste as good as I smell?" I smiled in response. That hurt my face.

"I'm sorry," I apologized again.

"What should I apologize for?"

"For very nearly taking yourself away from me forever."

careful not to disrupt the wire connecting me to one of the monitors.

"Even better -- better than I'd imagined."

"No, I like how you smell."

"That must have been a nice change for you."

"How did you do it?" I asked quietly. He knew what I meant at once.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"I'm not sure." He looked away from my wondering eyes, lifting my gauze-wrapped hand from the bed and holding it gently in his,

I waited patiently for the rest.

He raised his eyes to the ceiling. "Of all the things to apologize for."

He sighed without returning my gaze. "It was impossible… to stop," he whispered. "Impossible. But I did." He looked up finally, with half a smile. "I must love you."

"I know why you did it." His voice was comforting. "It was still irrational, of course. You should have waited for me, you should have told me."

"But you stayed."

He was instantly anxious. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Yes." A new sound darkened his voice, a tone of sheer hatred.

"After I pulled him off you, Emmett and Jasper took care of him." There was a fierce note of regret in his voice.

"They love you, too, you know."

"I know. She understands now." His voice was even, but his face was black with fury.

"Yes, I stayed."

"You wouldn't have let me go."

"What happened to James?"

"No," he agreed in a grim tone, "I wouldn't."

"They had to leave the room… there was a lot of blood."

"And Alice, and Carlisle…" I said in wonder.

A flash of painful images from the last time I'd seen Alice reminded me of something. "Did Alice see the tape?" I asked anxiously.

"She was always in the dark, that's why she didn't remember."

This confused me. "I didn't see Emmett and Jasper there."

Some very unpleasant memories were beginning to come back to me. I shuddered, and then winced.

I tried to reach his face with my free hand, but something stopped me. I glanced down to see the IV pulling at my hand.

"Ugh." I winced.

"What is it?" he asked anxiously distracted, but not enough. The bleakness did not entirely leave his eyes.

"Needles," I explained, looking away from the one in my hand. I concentrated on a warped ceiling tile and tried to breathe deeply despite the ache in my ribs.

He stared at me, first confusion and then hurt touching his eyes. His brows pulled together as he frowned. "Do you want me to leave?"

I rolled my eyes. I was pleased to discover that this reaction, at least, was pain-free. I decided to change the subject.

"Afraid of a needle," he muttered to himself under his breath, shaking his head. "Oh, a sadistic vampire, intent on torturing her to death, sure, no problem, she runs off to meet him. An IV, on the other hand…"

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"No!" I protested, horrified by the thought. "No, I meant, why does my mother think you're here? I need to have my story straight before she gets back."

"Oh," he said, and his forehead smoothed back into marble. "I came to Phoenix to talk some sense into you, to convince you to come back to Forks." His wide eyes were so earnest and sincere, I almost believed him myself. "You agreed to see me, and you drove out to the hotel where I was staying with Carlisle and Alice of course I was here with parental supervision," he inserted virtuously, "but you tripped on the stairs on the way to my room and… well, you know the rest. You don't need to remember any details, though; you have a good excuse to be a little muddled about the finer points."

I thought about it for a moment. "There are a few flaws with that story. Like no broken windows."

"That's going to be embarrassing," I muttered to myself.

I wasn't so lost to the soreness or the fog of medication that I didn't respond to his touch. The beeping of the monitor jumped around erratically now he wasn't the only one who could hear my heart misbehave.

He chuckled, and a speculative look came into his eye. "Hmm, I wonder…"

"Not really," he said. "Alice had a little bit too much fun fabricating evidence. It's all been taken care of very convincingly you could probably sue the hotel if you wanted to. You have nothing to worry about," he promised, stroking my cheek with the lightest of touches. "Your only job now is to heal."

He leaned in slowly; the beeping noise accelerated wildly before his lips even touched me. But when they did, though with the most gentle of pressure, the beeping stopped altogether.

He pulled back abruptly, his anxious expression turning to relief as the monitor reported the restarting of my heart.

"It seems that I'm going to have to be even more careful with you than usual." He frowned.

"I was not finished kissing you," I complained. "Don't make me come over there."

He grinned, and bent to press his lips lightly to mine. The monitor went wild.

He moved from the hard plastic chair by my side to the turquoise faux-leather recliner at the foot of my bed, leaning it all the way back, and closing his eyes. He was perfectly still.

But then his lips were taut. He pulled away.

"I think I hear your mother," he said, grinning again.

He read the terror in my eyes for a short second. "I won't," he promised solemnly, and then he smiled. "I'll take a nap."

"Don't leave me," I cried, an irrational surge of panic flooding through me. I couldn't let him go he might disappear from me again.

"Don't forget to breathe," I whispered sarcastically. He took a deep breath, his eyes still closed.

I could hear my mother now. She was talking to someone, maybe a nurse, and she sounded tired and upset. I wanted to jump out of the bed and run to her, to calm her, promise that everything was fine. But I wasn't in any sort of shape for jumping, so I waited impatiently.

"I'm just glad to finally see your eyes open." She sat on the edge of my bed.

"I know." I could feel them.

"Bella, I was so upset!"

"You're lucky Dr. Cullen was there. He's such a nice man… very young, though. And he looks more like a model than a doctor…"

"Mom!" I whispered, my voice full of love and relief.

I suddenly realized I didn't have any idea when it was. "How long have they been closed?"

The door opened a crack, and she peeked through.

"I'm sorry, Mom. But everything's fine now, it's okay," I comforted her.

"Mom, I'm so glad to see you!"

"It's Friday, hon, you've been out for a while."

"They had to keep you sedated for a while, honey you've got a lot of injuries."

"Friday?" I was shocked. I tried to remember what day it had been when… but I didn't want to think about that.

She took in Edward's still form on the recliner, and tiptoed to my bedside.

She bent down to hug me gently, and I felt warm tears falling on my cheeks.

"He never leaves, does he?" she mumbled to herself.

"You met Carlisle?"

I took advantage of my mother's momentary distraction to keep the subject from returning to my less-than-candid behavior. "Where's Phil?" I asked quickly.

She glanced over her shoulder at Edward, lying with his eyes closed in the chair. "You didn't tell me you had such good friends in Forks."

I cringed, and then moaned.

"What hurts?" she demanded anxiously, turning back to me. Edward's eyes flashed to my face.

"She is," I agreed wholeheartedly.

"And you'll like Jacksonville so much," she gushed while I stared at her vacantly. "I was a little bit worried when Phil started talking about Akron, what with the snow and everything, because you know how I hate the cold, but now Jacksonville! It's always sunny, and the humidity really isn't that bad. We found the cutest house, yellow, with white trim, and a porch just like in an old movie, and this huge oak tree, and it's just a few minutes from the ocean, and you'll have your own bathroom --"

"Florida oh, Bella! You'll never guess! Just when we were about to leave, the best news!"

"It's fine," I assured them. "I just have to remember not to move." He lapsed back into his phony slumber.

"Phil got signed?" I guessed.

"Yes! How did you guess! The Suns, can you believe it?"

"That's great, Mom," I said as enthusiastically as I could manage, though I had little idea what that meant.

"And Edward's sister Alice. She's a lovely girl."

"Mom." I hesitated, wondering how best to be diplomatic about this. "I want to live in Forks. I'm already settled in at school, and I have a couple of girlfriends' she glanced toward Edward again when I reminded her of friends, so I tried another direction "and Charlie needs me. He's just all alone up there, and he can't cook at all."

"Wait, Mom!" I interrupted. Edward still had his eyes closed, but he looked too tense to pass as asleep. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to Florida. I live in Forks."

"You want to stay in Forks?" she asked, bewildered. The idea was inconceivable to her. And then her eyes flickered back toward Edward. "Why?"

"But you don't have to anymore, silly," she laughed. "Phil will be able to be around so much more now… we've talked about it a lot, and what I'm going to do is trade off on the away games, half the time with you, half the time with him."

"I told you school, Charlie ouch!" I'd shrugged. Not a good idea.

Her hands fluttered helplessly over me, trying to find a safe place to pat. She made do with my forehead; it was unbandaged.

"And how do you feel about him?" She only poorly concealed the raging curiosity in her voice.

I opened my mouth to lie, but her eyes were scrutinizing my face, and I knew she would see through that.

"Yes." She hesitated, looking at his perfectly still form. "And I want to talk to you about that."

"I think that boy is in love with you," she accused, keeping her voice low.

She frowned and looked back and forth between Edward and me, this time very deliberately.

"Is it this boy?" she whispered.

"Well, he seems very nice, and, my goodness, he's incredibly good-looking, but you're so young, Bella…" Her voice was unsure; as far as I could remember, this was the first time since I was eight that she'd come close to trying to sound like a parental authority. I recognized the reasonable-but-firm tone of voice from talks I'd had with her about men.

Uh-oh. "What about?" I asked.

"He's part of it," I admitted. No need to confess how big a part. "So, have you had a chance to talk with Edward?" I asked.

"It's not so bad."

I sighed, looking away. As much as I loved my mom, this was not a conversation I wanted to have with her. "I'm pretty crazy about him." There that sounded like something a teenager with her first boyfriend might say.

"I think so, too," I confided.

"Bella, honey, you hate Forks," she reminded me.

She bit her lip. "Phil's supposed to call in a little while… I didn't know you were going to wake up…"

"I was too nervous," she admitted sheepishly. "There's been some crime in the neighborhood, and I don't like being there alone."

"No problem, Mom." I tried to tone down the relief so she wouldn't get her feelings hurt. "I won't be alone."

"Do you need to go?"

"That's right," she agreed, easily pleased.

"I'll be back soon. I've been sleeping here, you know," she announced, proud of herself.

"Someone broke into that dance studio around the corner from the house and burned it to the ground there's nothing left at all! And they left a stolen car right out front. Do you remember when you used to dance there, honey?"

"I know that, Mom. Don't worry about it. It's just a crush," I soothed her.

Then she sighed and glanced guiltily over her shoulder at the big, round clock on the wall.

"Oh, Mom, you don't have to do that! You can sleep at home I'll never notice." The swirl of painkillers in my brain was making it hard to concentrate even now, though, apparently, I'd been sleeping for days.

"Crime?" I asked in alarm.

A nurse came bustling in then to check all my tubes and wires. My mother kissed my forehead, patted my gauze-wrapped hand, and left.

As soon as she closed the door, Edward was at my side.

Edward's eyes stayed closed, but a wide grin flashed across his face.

She looked like that might be why she wanted to stay. "I'll be back tonight." It sounded as much like a warning as it sounded like a promise, and she glanced at Edward again as she said it.

"I'll tell your RN that you're awake. She'll be in to see you in a minute."

"I love you, Mom."

"I'm fine," I assured her.

"I can stay, baby, if you need me."

The nurse was checking the paper readout on my heart monitor.

"I remember." I shivered, and winced.

"No, Mom, I'll be fine. Edward will be with me."

"I love you, too, Bella. Try to be more careful when you walk, honey, I don't want to lose you."

"You stole a car?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Are you feeling anxious, honey? Your heart rate got a little high there."

He smiled, unrepentant. "It was a good car, very fast."

"What?"

"Interesting." His eyes narrowed.

"How was your nap?" I asked.

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. "But you'd be stuck inside all day in Florida. You'd only be able to come out at night, just like a real vampire."

He looked down while he answered. "I'm surprised. I thought Florida… and your mother… well, I thought that's what you would want."

He almost smiled, but not quite. And then his face was grave. "I would stay in Forks, Bella. Or somewhere like it," he explained. "Someplace where I couldn't hurt you anymore."

He didn't say anything; he watched my face warily as the pain that had nothing to do with broken bones, pain that was infinitely worse, threatened to crush me.

It didn't sink in at first. I continued to stare at him blankly as the words one by one clicked into place in my head like a ghastly puzzle. I was barely conscious of the sound of my heart accelerating, though, as my breathing became hyperventilation, I was aware of the sharp aching in my protesting ribs.

And then another nurse walked purposefully into the room. Edward sat still as stone as she took in my expression with a practiced eye before turning to the monitors.

"Shhh, Bella, calm down."

"Do you swear you won't leave me?" I whispered. I tried to control the gasping, at least. My ribs were throbbing.

"No need to be brave, honey. It's better if you don't get too stressed out; you need to rest." She waited, but I just shook my head.

His cool hands were on my face; I stared at him with wild eyes.

"Okay," she sighed. "Hit the call button when you're ready."

"No, no," I mumbled, trying to keep the agony out of my voice. "I don't need anything." I couldn't afford to close my eyes now.

But my heart couldn't slow.

He put his hands on either side of my face and brought his face close to mine. His eyes were wide and serious. "I swear."

"Don't leave me," I begged in a broken voice.

"Time for more pain meds, sweetheart?" she asked kindly, tapping the IV feed.

"I won't," he promised. "Now relax before I call the nurse back to sedate you."

"Bella." He stroked my face anxiously. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here as long as you need me."

She gave Edward a stern look, and threw one more anxious glance at the machinery, before leaving.

"Yes," I said cautiously.

"Better?" he asked.

He shook his head and muttered something unintelligible. I thought I picked out the word "overreaction."

"No, I don't want to be without you, Bella, of course not. Be rational. And I have no problem with saving you, either if it weren't for the fact that I was the one putting you in danger… that I'm the reason that you're here."

"Why did you say that?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "Are you tired of having to save me all the time? Do you want me to go away?"

The smell of his breath was soothing. It seemed to ease the ache of my breathing. He continued to hold my gaze while my body slowly relaxed and the beeping returned to a normal pace. His eyes were dark, closer to black than gold today.

"Barely." His voice was just a whisper. "Covered in gauze and plaster and hardly able to move."

"Yes, you are the reason." I frowned. "The reason I'm here alive."

"I wasn't referring to my most recent near-death experience," I said, growing irritated. "I was thinking of the others you can take your pick. If it weren't for you, I would be rotting away in the Forks cemetery."

"That's not the worst part, though," he continued to whisper. He acted as if I hadn't spoken. "Not seeing you there on the floor… crumpled and broken." His voice was choked. "Not thinking I was too late. Not even hearing you scream in pain all those unbearable memories that I'll carry with me for the rest of eternity. No, the very worst was feeling… knowing that I couldn't stop. Believing that I was going to kill you myself."

"You know what." I was starting to get angry now. He was so stubbornly determined to dwell on the negative.

"I could have. So easily."

"What?"

He winced at my words, but the haunted look didn't leave his eyes.

I knew I needed to stay calm… but he was trying to talk himself into leaving me, and the panic fluttered in my lungs, trying to get out.

He heard the change in my tone. His eyes tightened. "I don't seem to be strong enough to stay away from you, so I suppose that you'll get your way… whether it kills you or not," he added roughly.

"Promise me," I whispered.

"But you didn't."

"Good." He hadn't promised, though a fact that I had not missed. The panic was only barely contained; I had no strength left to control the anger. "You told me how you stopped… now I want to know why," I demanded.

"Why?" he repeated warily.

"Why you did it. Why didn't you just let the venom spread? By now I would be just like you."

He wasn't going to answer, that much was clear.

Edward's eyes seemed to turn flat black, and I remembered that this was something he'd never intended me to know. Alice must have been preoccupied by the things she'd learned about herself… or she'd been very careful with her thoughts around him clearly, he'd had no idea that she'd filled me in on the mechanics of vampire conversions. He was surprised, and infuriated. His nostrils flared, his mouth looked as if it was chiseled from stone.

"I'll be the first to admit that I have no experience with relationships," I said. "But it just seems logical… a man and woman have to be somewhat equal… as in, one of them can't always be swooping in and saving the other one. They have to save each other equally."

"You are my life. You're the only thing it would hurt me to lose." I was getting better at this. It was easy to admit how much I needed him.

"No, I don't wish that." He paused before continuing. "But my life was over. I wasn't giving anything up."

"I think I do."

"Do you wish that Carlisle hadn't saved you?"

"Why not?" My throat rasped and the words weren't as loud as I'd meant them to be. "Don't tell me it's too hard! After today, or I guess it was a few days ago… anyway, after that, it should be nothing."

"You have saved me," he said quietly.

"Bella, you don't know. I've had almost ninety years to think about this, and I'm still not sure."

"You don't know what you're asking." His voice was soft; he stared intently at the edge of the pillowcase.

"I can't always be Lois Lane," I insisted. "I want to be Superman, too."

He was very calm, though. Decided.

"I can't do it, Bella. I won't do that to you."

He folded his arms on the side of my bed and rested his chin on his arms. His expression was smooth, the anger reined in. Evidently he'd decided he wasn't angry with me. I hoped I'd get a chance to warn Alice before he caught up with her.

"That's my problem," I said. "I can handle it."

Edward grimaced again as my words reminded him that I was more informed than he had ever intended me to be. I watched him repress the anger, watched as his eyes grew speculative.

I blanched. I couldn't help it. But I tried to keep my expression from showing how clearly I remembered the feeling… the fire in my veins.

"It's not an issue. Three days. Big deal."

He glared at me.

"And the pain?" he asked.

"Charlie?" he asked curtly. "Renee?"

"It's possible to take bravery to the point where it becomes insanity."

Minutes passed in silence as I struggled to answer his question. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I closed it again. He waited, and his expression became triumphant because he knew I had no true answer.

"Look, that's not an issue either," I finally muttered; my voice was as unconvincing as it always was when I lied. " Renee has always made the choices that work for her she'd want me to do the same. And Charlie's resilient, he's used to being on his own. I can't take care of them forever. I have my own life to live."

"You're going to recover," he reminded me.

I took a deep breath to calm myself, ignoring the spasm of pain it triggered. I stared at him, and he stared back. There was no compromise in his face.

I snorted. He opened his eyes in surprise. "That's stupid. That's like going to someone who's just won the lottery, taking their money, and saying, 'Look, let's just go back to how things should be. It's better that way.' And I'm not buying it."

"No," I said slowly. "I'm not."

I glared at him. "I may not die now… but I'm going to die sometime. Every minute of the day, I get closer. And I'm going to get old."

"Exactly," he snapped. "And I won't end it for you."

"You're wrong," I insisted. "I'm going to die."

"Really, Bella." He was anxious now. "You'll be out of here in a few days. Two week at most."

"If you're waiting for me to be on my deathbed, I've got news for you! I was just there!"

He frowned as what I was saying sunk in, pressing his long fingers to his temples and closing his eyes. "That's how it's supposed to happen. How it should happen. How it would have happened if I didn't exist and I shouldn't exist."

His forehead creased. "Of course you are. You may have a scar or two…"

He rolled his eyes and set his lips. "Bella, we're not having this discussion anymore. I refuse to damn you to an eternity of night and that's the end of it."

"So where does that leave us?" I wondered.

"You'll never catch me betting against Alice."

His eyes went black again. "Alice wouldn't dare."

"She's wrong. She also saw you dead, but that didn't happen, either."

"Alice already saw it, didn't she?" I guessed. "That's why the things she says upset you. She knows I'm going to be like you… someday."

And for a moment he looked so frightening that I couldn't help but believe it I couldn't imagine someone brave enough to cross him.

"That's right. You're much better."

We stared at each other for a very long time. It was quiet except for the whirring of the machines, the beeping, the dripping, the ticking of the big clock on the wall. Finally, his expression softened.

"I'm hardly a lottery prize," he growled.

"If you think that's the end, then you don't know me very well," I warned him. "You're not the only vampire I know."

"Bella, you're in pain. You need to relax so you can heal. Why are you being so difficult? They're not going to put any more needles in you now."

"No!"

"I'm fine," I lied.

"I think we're ready for more pain medication," he said calmly, ignoring my furious expression.

"I'll send in the nurse." The voice sounded very bored.

"You need rest. All this arguing isn't good for you."

"Nice try." He reached for the button.

"So give in," I hinted.

"Yes?" the speaker on the wall squawked.

I sighed. "Ouch," I muttered.

He chuckled humorlessly. "I believe it's called an impasse."

"I won't take it," I promised.

"I'm not going back to sleep."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, eyeing the button for the nurse.

My heart rate started to climb. He read the fear in my eyes, and sighed in frustration.

"I'm not afraid of the needles," I mumbled. "I'm afraid to close my eyes."

He ignored me.

He looked toward the sack of fluids hanging beside my bed. "I don't think they're going to ask you to swallow anything."

"I don't believe you," he said gently.

"Oh, you'll get over it it's just a crush."

Then he smiled his crooked smile, and took my face between his hands. "I told you I'm not going anywhere. Don't be afraid. As long as it makes you happy, I'll be here."

"Thanks," I mumbled, unenthusiastic. It didn't take long. I could feel the drowsiness trickling through my bloodstream almost immediately.

He was laughing when the nurse came in, brandishing a syringe.

I shook my head in disbelief it made me dizzy. "I was shocked when Renee swallowed that one. I know you know better."

"That's the beautiful thing about being human," he told me. "Things change."

"Excuse me," she said brusquely to Edward.

My eyes narrowed. "Don't hold your breath."

I smiled back, ignoring the ache in my cheeks. "You're talking about forever, you know."

He got up and crossed to the end of the small room, leaning against the wall. He folded his arms and waited. I kept my eyes on him, still apprehensive. He met my gaze calmly.

"Here you go, honey." The nurse smiled as she injected the medicine into my tube. "You'll feel better now."

"Anytime."

"Me, too."

"I'm betting on Alice," I mumbled.

I could feel his lips at my ear.

"Yes?"

"Edward?" I struggled to pronounce his name clearly.

I think I smiled. '"Kay."

"Thanks," I sighed.

And then the night closed over me.

I turned my head slightly… searching. He knew what I was after. His lips touched mine gently.

She must have left the room, because something cold and smooth touched my face.

He laughed. "Don't worry about that now, Bella. You can argue with me when you wake up."

I wasn't really there at all anymore. But I fought against the stupor weakly. There was just one more thing I wanted to tell him.

"I know," he laughed quietly.

"I will," he promised. His voice was beautiful, like a lullaby. "Like I said, as long as it makes you happy… as long as it's what's best for you."

"Stay." The word was slurred.

"I love you," he whispered.

I tried to shake my head, but it was too heavy. "'S not the same thing," I mumbled.

"That ought to do it," she muttered as my eyelids drooped.